“It’s not nearly as happy as your news,” Ryan said, his mouth set in a thin line. “Irvine noticed someone watching his cabin last night.”
“Is that so?” I asked. Irvine was avoiding my eyes.
“Do you think it has to do with the ring—I mean, with your business deal?” Alex asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Caleb said. “But it makes we wonder if someone is not watching us. I’m reminded of that guy you saw outside your flat when Serenity trashed the shop?” His dark eyes penetrated mine. I nodded, looking away as a flush crept up my neck.
“Yeah, they could be related,” Alex said. “Did you get a good look at the guy?”
Irvine shook his head. “It was too dark and he was hidden in the trees. I managed to follow his trail, and he left this behind.” He fished the medallion out of his pocket and handed it to her. “I can’t make head nor tails of it.”
Alex held the medallion up to the light, and studied the stag. “Weird. It looks like it was made in one of those coin-stamp machines in tourist attractions.”
“Huh?”
“You know … you go to Warwick Castle on a school trip, and you stick a pound into the machine, and it stamps the coin with a picture of the castle and now you can’t use the coin anymore but you have a pretty castle on it.” She turned the coin over. “I must’ve collected a dozen of them from different tourist spots over the years. Look, you can see where the original coin has been squashed down, there.” She pointed to the rim of the medallion. I squinted at it, and could just make out the edge of a pound coin.
“Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.” Mum didn’t even let me stay over at other girl’s houses, let alone go on field trips. She didn’t think the school would take proper care of my leg.
“Hmmm.” Elinor pressed the coin back into Irvine’s hand. “Make sure you show that to Anna. She’s good at research and symbols and stuff. She might be able to trace where this machine is.”
“Good idea.” Caleb grabbed the medallion and stuffed it into my pocket. “I’m glad everyone’s able to be so helpful. It would be really annoying if a person knew something about this but didn’t speak up.” He said the last bit looking directly at me.
“Um … yeah. That would suck.” Alex looked confused.
I was saved by the buzz of my phone in my pocket. “I have to get this, sorry.” I grabbed my phone and raced outside, checking that no one followed me.
“Hi, Mum,” I breathed, hobbling sideways down the steps and racing to my car as fast as I could. I couldn’t risk any of them hearing this conversation. “I was worried when you didn’t answer my text.”
“I was at the pictures. There was a new teen werewolf film out today and I needed to write a review for the site. They’re so strict with the mobile phones these days, so I had to turn it off. I called as soon as the film finished. I’m worried. Carol, what’s going on? Did you see a werewolf?”
I slid into the driver’s side, and slammed the door behind me. I opened my mouth, but the words stuck in my throat. If I told her the real truth, she’d find a way to get to me and drag me back to London. She was only leaving me in peace because she thought I was safe. I hated lying to her, but if I wanted answers without giving up my freedom I’d need to be careful. “No, where I am seems to be werewolf free, so far. But I had this weird dream last night that something was wrong, that someone was after you, and they were trying to use me to get to you. That’s not true, is it? Is something going on there you’re not telling me?”
As lies went, it was a particularly clever one. Mum believed that dreams could predict the future or connect people to each other. She also believed that being bit by my father had given me other special abilities, although I’d never experienced anything that could be called paranormal apart from the ability to smell werewolves. If she thought I’d seen something, she’d tell me.
Mum paused for a fraction of a second before launching into a mighty tirade. “Oh, Carol, I didn’t want to worry you, but I’m so afraid. The werewolves have sent a bounty hunter after me because of the expose I wrote about the werewolf who revealed himself at that tattooist’s wedding. They’re threatening to find you and use you to make me do their bidding. And if you’re having premonitions in your sleep, it means your powers are finally coming in, and you’ll need to come back and learn to commune with the spirits from my friend Serena—”
Anger rose within me as I realised what she was doing. “Mum, you’re lying to me.”
“I am not!” The fierce indignation in her voice gave her away.
“You are. You just made all of that up so I’d come back to London. That’s low, Mum.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but when a daughter runs away and doesn’t even give me a way to find her, drastic measures must be taken. What happened if werewolves attacked me and I needed you for a blood transfusion but I couldn’t find you—”
“Then just commune with me in my dreams. Bye, Mum.” I hang up while she was still chastising me and tossed the phone on the seat. My blood boiled with anger, but at least I knew now that she wasn’t in trouble. At least, not that she knew of.
I turned back to the house, just as Irvine lowered his head in front of my window. I jumped, banging my head on the roof of the car.
“Ow, jeez.” I rubbed my head.
Irvine tapped on the window. “Willow, open the door.”
I did. He slid in beside me, his arms falling around my shoulders in that easy way that reminded me of Alex and Ryan hugging in the hall. And that made me think of the wedding dress I tried on, and that make my chest tighten.
“You ken I had to say something,” he said, stroking my hair.
“Caleb knows,” I said, burying my head into his shoulder.
“Probably he ken you were with me last night. He’s nae a fool. But he doesn’t ken that you ken we’re shifters. Although I think we should tell them.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I ken.” He continued to stroke my hair. “But it will help me keep you safe. You ken the full moon is coming soon.”
I nodded.
“I’m not gonnae leave you alone. I’ll watch you the whole time. But I need help, and that means I need everyone to have as much information as possible. Do you ken?”
I nodded, my chest tightening. “I ken.”
“So I can tell them?”
I nodded, squeezing his shoulders. I hope this is the right decision.
“Do you want to tell them?”
I shook my head vigorously, sinking into Irvine’s embrace. I peered behind him, across the expansive front lawn of Raynard Hall. I’d parked near the end of the west wing, where the edge of Crookshollow Forest crept right up near the edge of the house. I stared at the edge of the trees, thinking that in only a couple of days Irvine would be living in there, running around with a tail and sharp teeth …
What’s that?
I gasped, my whole body stiffening. A shape moved behind one of the raised beds and darted back toward the forest. A man, dressed in black pants and an army shirt. There was a pair of hunting binoculars around his neck. As he ran, he glanced back over his shoulder, and I got a good glimpse of his face.
It’s him.
Irvine shook my shoulders. “What is it, Willow? What do you see?”
“That was him,” I whispered. “It was the same guy I saw in front of my flat. He was hiding in the garden watching us.”
27
Irvine
Think back on everything she’s said to you, every seemingly innocent conversation. Caleb’s voice landed in my head. Has she said anything that might give us a clue who might be after her?
I was sitting some distance from his position, my eyes trained on Marshell House, where Willow and Elinor were enjoying a wine by the fire. Hanging out with the girls so much had changed Willow’s mind about drinking, and she now loved a glass of wine if she was around people she trusted.
It was two days since Willow had seen the guy hea
ding into the forest around Raynard Hall. I didn’t hesitate in getting the whole pack together to tell them the full story about Willow – at least, the full story as I ken it. I’d wanted to do it before she changed her mind.
Everyone accepted her story with grace and empathy. That is, everybody except Caleb. He didn’t like being deceived, especially when it put the plan in danger. Especially when Willow was still holding something back.
Because of my part in hiding the truth about Willow, I was also in the doghouse with her. I ken I’d lost much of Caleb’s trust, and I hated that, but it couldn’t be helped.
Now the full moon had come, and we were running shifts to watch Willow and try to catch the guy. A search around Raynard Hall confirmed that he was definitely the same human who’d been watching my cabin, but that didn’t give us any clue as to who he was or what he wanted with Willow. I’d given the medallion to Luke’s wife Anna, but so far she hadn’t discovered anything.
I cannae think of a thing. She didnae recognise him, so he’s not her ex-boyfriend, and it’s unlikely he’s an ex-client of hers. She keeps all her old client files at her mother’s house back in London, so we’d have to go there to get them. At first, Willow believed her mother hired a guy to track her down, but now she doesnae believe that, and I dinnae believe it, either. If he wanted to track her down, he would’ve grabbed her when she was alone the other night. Instead, he just seems to want to talk to her.
You know her the best out of all of us. What’s your opinion?
I think it has to do with why she doesn’t want shifters to be public, but she wonnae tell me why. Do you have any ideas?
Yes, Caleb said. I think her father’s behind it.
That didn’t make any sense. She hasnae seen her Pa since she was a wee lass. Why would have come back now?
A human attacked by a werewolf could be a powerful political tool. Being in possession of that human would be evidence enough that shifters and humans shouldn’t mix. This would be especially important if you’re a member of one of the packs that want to keep us hidden. Say, if you were responsible for a heinous crime.
My mind reeled. Holy shit. Caleb was right. WIllow’s father could hire a human just a readily as any of us to keep an eye on her, learn her routines, and watch for an opportunity to strike.
I shuddered at the thought of what the evil wolf might do to my Willow if he caught her. Willow had just started to make a life for herself. There was no way in hell I’d let her father take that away from her. Not again.
I scanned the treeline, searching again for unfamiliar wolves or faces in the foliage. Nothing.
I wonnae let him hurt her again, I snarled. I wonnae let her become a pawn in shifter politics.
You may not have a choice, Caleb growled back at me. Your duty is supposed to be to this alliance and our mission. I know how amazing it feels to find your fated mate, but I brought you in here because I thought this cause was more important than anything. Lately, you’ve barely lifted a finger to help us. You need to be careful not to neglect your own kind when they need you most, especially when your mate isn’t being entirely truthful with you.
Caleb didn’t have much more time to berate me further, because Luke showed up to relieve me of my shift. I planned to head into the forest for a short nap before coming back to relieve Caleb in a few hours.
I trotted into the forest, my wolfish senses dulling the thoughts about Willow’s stalker and the ugly words Caleb had spoken. Hunger surged in my stomach. A rabbit crossed in front of me, and I grabbed it and snapped its neck. As I chewed on the fresh meat, another scent wafted across my nose.
The stalker. He was here.
I dropped the rabbit and raised my nose to the air, sniffing to get the direction. The scent clung to a low hanging branch, only fifty yards from where I stood. I bounded into the trees, rage coursing through my veins as I traced the path of the man who’d brought nothing but trouble.
The scent grew stronger as I moved deeper into the trees. He’d been here not long ago. Perhaps he’d seen us patrolling the house and decided not to come any closer. Smart boy. I bared my teeth, wishing he were in front of me so I could take a chunk out of him.
Four hundred metres later, and I realised I might get my wish. I was heading downhill, toward a shallow stream that wound its way through the forest behind Raynard Hall. The scent grew so strong my tongue was hanging out. Every muscle in my body tensed, ready to pounce. I saw something move along the bank of the stream … an upright shape that could only be a man.
I rocked back on my hind legs, and shoved off from the ground. I burst from the trees directly in front of his path, my teeth bared, my claws digging into the earth as I landed on the rocks right behind him. The stalker swung around, bringing his arms up. A rifle was pressed against his shoulder, the barrel pointed right at my chest.
“Come any closer and you’re a dead wolf,” he growled.
I pulled up short, my paws skidding on the wet earth. More than the gun that threatened me, my attack was halted by the sound of that voice and the familiar lips that spoke it.
Oh, shite.
I ken that face.
It all fell into place. I ken where the medallion had come from. I ken why the stalker was here. He wasn’t after Willow. He was after me.
I deserved that bullet.
28
Irvine
The gamekeeper’s son. After all this time, he’d come for me. I didn’t blame him. In his position, I’d have come for me, too.
In the single, agonising moment that the gun’s barrel pointed at me, all of the pieces fell into place. The boy had watched us from a distance, so he could figure out my weaknesses and find a way to get me alone. That medallion he wore … I ken now that the stag printed on the coin was the logo for the Stoneleigh Castle hunting lodge. I remembered it now, painted on a sign beside the high iron gates.
If he wanted revenge on me, then capturing and hurting Willow would be a fine way to do it.
“You killed my father,” growled the boy, his hands on the gun steady. There was no fear in his voice, only a cold, hard rage. “I watched you tear his throat out right in front of me. It’s taken me five years to track you down, but finally, I’ve got you exactly where I want you.”
Aye, that you do, lad.
I lowered myself onto my stomach, showing my submission. The boy lowered the barrel after me, so it continued to point directly at my face. I ken I should be shaking with fear or rage; I should be tearing him to pieces for daring to threaten me. But even my wolfish instincts gave way to the duty I felt toward this boy. All I had for him was a cold acceptance. This was right. It was proper. It was what I deserved.
“What does a murdering werewolf get for his crimes?” The boy continued, his voice dripping with hatred. “He gets a life. He gets a home and friends and a woman who loves him. How is that fair? My Ma left us after you killed Pa. My family is destroyed, because of you. I should take her from you, make you live with the pain of losing someone. An eye for an eye. But I’m not a murderer, like you. I was only going to warn her about you, about what you are. But she’s not going to listen. It’s better this way, if I rid the world of your evil, then she’ll be able to move on.”
I lowered my head. I couldn’t argue with him. He was right. I was a murderer.
“Well?” the boy snarled, shaking the gun, his whole body rigid. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself? Don’t you want to beg for your life like the flea-riddled mongrel dog you are?”
I met his eyes, and tried to convey my acceptance of his justice. I’d done a horrible thing, and because I was a wolf, I’d got away with it. The boy had sought the only justice he could get … the justice of revenge. An eye for an eye. A life for a life.
My life, for the life I’d taken.
The vision came at me, as clear as that winter night five years ago. Pa took me with him to meet one of his agents with a delivery. The Maclean pack had raided several of our drops over the last m
onth, and Pa wanted to reach the meeting point as soon as possible, before the Macleans got wind of his plans. So we were taking a shortcut through the area of forest owned by Stoneleigh Castle Lodge.
To cover the ground quickly, we were in our wolf forms. Usually we wouldn’t risk being seen on the lodge’s land, where trigger-happy hunters lurked behind every tree. But Pa thought on such a miserable night, with the ground knee-deep in snow and a frigid cold wind blowing straight into our bones, no one would be out. Except there was.
We stayed deep in the trees, avoiding the herds of deer that were the main attraction for hunters. I dawdled behind, weighed down by the heavy bag of drugs piled into the sling fitted to my back. Pa howled, calling to me to hurry up. He was worried we’d be late for the drop. His howl must’ve drawn the attention of the gamekeeper, who came running down the slope of the next hill, just as my pa reached the top of the ridge.
To this day, I don’t know why the gamekeeper was out in that weather. As I saw the gamekeeper coming down the slope of the hill, I noticed he had a fox-trap in one hand. A rifle rested on his shoulder and a red-face teen trailed after him, wrapped up in several layers of thermal clothing and at least seven scarves. In a single, terrifying moment, the gamekeeper dropped the trap, grabbed his rifle, and let off a shot.
Pa went down, his nose landing in the snow. My heart leapt into my throat, and I bounded toward him, desperate to reach him. As I watched, a pink cloud spread out in the snow around him, and he forced his shift, so that by the time the gamekeeper and his son reached them, all they saw was a naked man dying in the snow.
The gamekeeper was yelling at the son. He kicked my father’s corpse, yelling about spells and witches. He ken he’d seen a wolf, but now he was staring down at the body of a man.
I shrugged the drugs off and took off running as fast as I could in the thick snow, climbing up the ridge at a snail's pace. Every part of my body was numb, but not from the cold. My pa was dead, and I ken what I had to do.
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